If It's Important to You, You'll DO It! (And other Fallacies....)
There are certain things in life that have always annoyed me.
One of my pet peeves I first became aware of when I was quite young: I would find my mom or dad because I wanted to tell them something that seemed important... and they would be too busy to listen to me.
"Ask me later!" my mom would say. So I'd go away, and wait.
Later, I'd be asked what it was I had wanted to say... and most of the time all I'd be able to come up with was a sheepish "I forgot."
To which my mother (especially!) would reply "Well, it must not have been important, then!"
I would go away fuming, not because I had forgotten, but at the implication that one's ability to remember something was connected to its importance.
What I instead learned — at the tender age of maybe eight or nine — was to simply start writing everything down, if I couldn't get to say it, ir act on it, immediately.
Fast Forward, Several Decades
A later variation of this particular pet peeve came with the statement that makes up the first part of the title of this post:
If it's important to you, you'll DO it!
I believe I first heard that particular assertion during some kind of motivational workshop when I was in mid-20's. I would probably have argued with the workshop presenter if I had felt more motivated... but I didn't.
There's something overly simplistic about that assertion that just rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it's the part that totally overlooks the functional aspects of just doing something because it's important to you, in the process totally overlooking any consequences or fallout from doing so... like maybe being fired from your job or pissing off your entire family, or maybe the fact that you lack the basic resources to get started.
Maybe that's a bit extreme, but I expect you get my drift.
My point is: Choices have consequences.
Maybe I'm an old stick-in-the-mud but I was always taught to think things through before doing them, and to carefully weigh the consequences of my whims.
I suppose I'm more of a believer in the idea that if something is important to you, you'll try to find a way to make it a reality. But some things are just not going to happen...
Risk-Taking and Playing the Percentages
Not only do choices have consequences, but we have to be willing and able to accept those consequences. And the consequences can come up front in the form of "no matter HOW much you might want this, you lack the resources," or they might come on the back end, in the form of the scale of the potential downside.
There's a difference between knowing that you'll still land on your feet if you fail at something, and knowing that if you fail you'll be homeless and living in a refrigerator box under a freeway overpass.
Which brings me to another pet peeve saying: "Do what you love, the money will follow!"
That one should really has an asterisk by it, with the caveat "only as long as what you love is something popular!"
Of course, that caveat has not stopped me from doing things I love. But I have long since given up on the idea that any money will follow.
And that's really OK...
Thanks for reading, and have a great Friday!
How about you? Do you think "motivational statements" should come with some cautions? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 20220819 01:43 PDT
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